Internal-combustion engine.



No. 895,46 6. I PATENTED AUG.j1 1, 1908. r H. A. JOHNSTON.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLIOATIOI- rmzn mm. 11. m1.

UNITED STATES PATENT ossios.

HOWARD A. JODINSTON, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

No. sec,4ee..

Specification 0! Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD A. Jonss'rou, of the city of Toronto, in the Province of Ontario, Lanada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements iii Internal- Combustion Engines, of which the following tained by the heat of. combustionat a tom-- perature above the i 'nition point of the fuel.

As considerable iiliculty is experienced in" maintainingthe igniter at a su'i'liciently high temperature to properly ignite the fuel w ion the whole stream of the latter'is directed a raiiis't it,'I provide a spreader against which tic fuel is directed, and so locate the igniter that-a portion of the fuel splashing from the spreader contacts therewit i.

To avoid the trouble and unccrtaintyet' starting tho'ongme by heating the interior of the combustion chamber with a ori-l. i

provide the engine with a special starting igniter whichmay be heated from the outside withoiit'reqiuring the'c'ombustion chamber to be'oponed up. y

v.When the engine is running. on? a" very light load an 'insuflicient quantity. of burned tekeep the igniter hot enough to do its work. '1 overcome the diiliculty by revidin the airinlct pipe with a throttle va ve, and y using a comparatively li ht spring on the exhaust valve. 13 thrott mg the air 1 permit a portion of ticexhaust to be sucked back into thecombustionchamber.

on the suction stroke, and as this-exhaust is of course hot the temperature 0'. the com-' bustion ehamber'is not reduced as much as it would baby the admission of all cold air. lugure 1 is a longitudinal section'tliro'iigh the combustion chamber oi the-on inc. lug. .2 is an end view of the extension 0 the piston; I Fig. dis a sectional detail of a modiication of the starting igniter. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the fuel distributor.

In the drawingslike letters-oi reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures. y t

My enginerinits main leaturesis similar to those now, on the market, and Itherdfore describe only such" parts of it inure necessar to the understanding of my'invcntion.

1 el'errmg particularly to Fig. 1, Ais the cylinder. Within the cylinder is fitted the iston D is a combustion chamber Formed as an extension ofthe cylinder, that is to say'it is axially'in line and connected therewith. The walls of the combustion chamber, it will'be noted, are not provided with any cooling means, and therefore attain a comparativel high temperature internally, suflicicntly big 1 to prevent the deposit of any tarry matters from the fuel emp eyed. On the upper end of the iiston is a piston extension ordisplacer 1, a opted to enter the combustion chamber, and prefcrabl of slightly less diameter'than the same. T 10 extension manner. In the head 'I of thecombustion chamber I-plaec the air inlet valve L and the exhaust va ve'M. These are of the ordinary type, and may be operated in an i desired manner, being norinally held 0 osed by springs a. and b. The valve openings are preferably connected respectively with pipes and K. Centrally in t 0 head I-[ is located aliiol admission valve or iii'ector O. This oi well known type emp eyed for spray- 1 ing oil, P being the valve stem, and It a pipe throu h'which compressed air ina be delivcrud rem any suitable source. be valve stem'may be operated in any well'known manner-to admit a jet of fuel at the end of the compression stroke of the engine, which may On the end of the piston extension is formed or secured a fuel distributor This fuel distributor is screwed into or ot ierwise seeuredto the end T of the piston extension. This end T is separated from the bed of the extension by a ayei f of some suite 10 heat insulating. material s that the end of'the extensionnn'ay-reach'as high a temperature as the other walls of the combustion chamber without unduly heating the rest of the extension. At one side of the distributor Sthe igniterV is secured to the head of the piston extensions This igniter may be of various forms but is preferably shaped to possess a consu erable surface area relative to its bulk. In the form shown I secure this by securing on a stem m a series of diamond-she ed disks a, separated by washers o. I pro or, both for the spreader and the igniter, nickel, or a may-be seoured'toathe- .iiston-in any desired operate on a four stroke or a two stroke cycle. 1

. ture to ignite the fuel; whereas with the present construction only a small portion of the iniected fuel contacts with the igniter, and tlns is quite suilicient to i nite the whole. The igniter disks being of the shape shown present points of metal which are comparatively easily heated to the ignitin point, while the gradual broadening of tie disks back of these points insures suilicient support to prevent the points being too easi y disintegrated.

In the side of the combustion chamber 1 form an inwardly flaring recess 71, over which is secured a hollow cap at.

This forms the startingigmter. In starting the engine the cap t is heated to fin proper temperature-by a suitable torch. As soon as fuel is a mitted through the injector a ortion of it will s lash into the recess it, an( by contacting with the hot cap i it will become ignited. As soon as the combustion chamber is well heated the torch may .be removed and the runnin igniter V allowed to do the work. I find this arrangement much more certain and convenient than the older plan cl introducing a torch into the interior of the combustion chamber for the pur nose of heating it and .the running igniter. nstead of using a cap heated by a torch I may employmeans which 1 have devised whereby I am enabled to ignite a spray of oil by means of a sparkelectric igniter. (See Fig. 3). In this figure a is a sparking plug, winch in the main is of ordinary construction. The electrodes 8 are, however, .formed of a comparatively fine wire, and one is preferably arranged transversely of the plug, so that oil moving towards the end of the plug will come in'contact with the electrode back of its point. A funnel-she ed end t is formed on the sparking plug .wlnci serves to concentrate the spray of Oil upon the electrodes.

As I understand it the operation of this device is as follower-The spray of oil can ht by the funnel tis concentrated upon the 0 cctrodes. As these are of small diameter at the points, and therefore of hi h resistance, they become heated a short distance back from the immediate point and va orize the liquid fuel which strikes them. readily ignited by the spark passing between the electrodes. I have found it practically impossibleto ignite a spray of crude oil by means of electrically heated wire, or by a s )ark alone whereas the arrangement I have a )ovedescribed will ignite a spray of liquid fuel with great certainty.

'lhe spreader or distributer S may be made lla on top. I find it, however, decidedly preferable to cut or form a longitudinal This vapor is groove 1) in the head of the distributor, which groove is substantially in the same plane as the two igniters. This causes a concentration of the spray in the direction of the ignitcrs. This concentration I find results in a certainty of i nition under all conditions of the load, which is otherwise not easily obtainable. I have found, particularly in starting an engine which was not constructed to give this concentration, that a greatly increased quantity of oil was required-in starting the en ine. With the spreader constructed as have described I find that the excess of oil re uired is not nearly so great as was formerly t 1e case. I have found, however, that when running the en ine on a very light lead it was frequently dilhcult to secure pro )er ignition owing to the fact that under suc 1 conditions but a small quantity of fuel is used, and this burning in a relatively large quantity of air does not produce suilicient heat to maintain the igniter at its proper temperature. I have therefore located in the pipe J leading to the air valve a valve or damper j by means of which the air supply may be t irottled.

The spring I), which ordinarily holds the exhaust valve closed, is somewhat weak. Thus on the suction stroke of the engine a portion of the exhaust from the pipe K is drawn back into the combustion chamlmr, when the supply of fresh air is restricted by means of the'damper 7'. When a portion of the hot exhaust is ,thus re-used the hot gas takes the place of a considerable quantity of the cold air, and only a suilieient uantity of the latter is admitted to proviie for the proper combustion of the fuel. The principle iere involved is the re-use of a portion of the hot exhaust ases, audit is obvious that other means mig it be devised by which the necessity of using a full charge of air might be avoided, am by which the deficiency might be made up by re-using a portion of the hot products of combustion.

The general operation of the device is briefly as follows:-At the end of the compression stroke a jet of fuel is sprayed through the valve or injector O. This is distributed threu h thecombustion chamber by the s rear er S, and is ignited at the starting of tie engine by the starting igniter, or when the engine is running by the igniter V. Ow-

ing to the combustion chamber being without any water jacket all its walls are very hot, that is to say, its temperature is sellicicntly high to prevent the deposit of any tarry matters from the fuel which may come in contact with it. The igniter V, luiwever, being directly in the path of the burning fuel, and containing a comparatively small amount of metal relative to its surface, reaches a much higher temperature than the walls of the combustion chamber, in operation attaining nearly a white heat which is sullieient to ignite the oil directed against it. I nition once started combustion then PIOGOOl s rap- 7 piston extension or the best results by properlubrication, .as

essary cooling of the cylinder,

idl throughout the spray of liquid.

i could, of course, employ my improvements in an engine constructed without the displacer, but I obtain the construction shown. The comparatively slow burning of an injected liquid in an ordinary cylinder would.

res'ultin a great loss of heat through the cylinder walls, and thus cause a loss of power through the cooling of the working medium by the water jacket orother cooling means employed; but by em loying a separate combustion chamber am a displacerthe combustion chamber may be-insulated and the heat conserved, while the cylinder and piston proper are each-maintainedcool enough for they scarcely contact wit 1 the heated gases. a

From the above description it will be seen that I have (lGVlSOtl-ftll engine in which crude petroleum may be employed as fuel with the greatestpossible advantager Ignition, both whenstarting and during running, issimple and certain. The combustionmvhile rapid and complete, is not in=the nature of-an'explosion. Further, the heat" reduced by the combustion of the fuel is utilized to the great-- est possible extent, the loss through the neoproper being reduced to a minimum. I havealso provided effective means for making the runningof the engine certain under'a light load, thus complestely overcoming a weak point existing in- -'eng ncs in which the internal "heat "wasdepended-ulpon for-ignition.

, What clannas my invention is:- a

1 In an internal "combustion engine the combination with a liquid fuel jet and a piston,of a spreader secured to the piston in the path 0 the fuel from the jet; and a fuel igniter secured to the piston and located in the,path of the fuel deflected from the spreader, andadapted to be maintained by t 10 heat-of combustion at a higher-temperature than the "walls 'of the combustion chamber, substantially as described.

2. In an' internal combustion engine the combination" with a liquid fuel jet, and a piston, of a spreader secured to thepiston in the path of the fuel from the jet and proected above the adjacent surface of the chamber and of small area relative thereto and afucl'ignitersecured to the piston and located in the path of the fuel deflected from the spreader, and adapted to be maintained at a higher temperature than the walls of the combustion chamber,

path of the fuel deflected from the spreader,

ton in and adapted to be maintained at a hi her temperature than the walls of the com ustion chamber, substantially as described.

4. In an internal combustion engine the combination with a liquid fuel jet and a piston, of a spreader ofsmall diameter relative to the piston secured to but insulated from the piston; and a fuel igniter located in the path of thesfuel deflected from the spreader, and adapted to be maintained by the heat of combustion at a higher temperature than the walls of the combustion chamber, substantially as described.

5. In an internal combustion engine the combination of a combustion chamber adapted to be maintained at a lower temperature than thei nition pointofthe fuel a piston; a liquid fue jet; a spreader secured to the pisthe path of the fuel; and a projecting metal art secured to the iston and in the path 0' the fuel deflected rom the spreader of far e surface area relative to its mass whereby it is maintained by the heat of com- .bustion at aitemperature above the ignition point of the fuel, substantially as described.

6. In an internal combustion engine having'a combustion chamber into which fuel is in ected substantially at the end of the compression stroke, the combination of an internal igniter secured to the piston adapted to be maintainedat an ignitin temperature by the: combustion of the fue am a starting igniter-in one wall of the chamber adapted to beheated from without, the engine beim arranged and each-igniter so located as to be in 'thepath of part of the injected fuel at the time of injection, substantially as described.

7. In an internal combustion engine the combination with a liquid fuel jet of a spreader located within the combustion e iamber in the path of the fuel from the jet; and a fuel ifiniter located in the path of the fuel deflector from the spreader, and adapted to bc maint'ained at a-higher tem erature than the s reader and the walls of tihe combustion c iamber, the spreader having a groove formed therein tending to concentrate the s ray in the direction of the igniter,

'substantia ly as described.

8. In an internal combustion engine the combination of a combustion chamber adapted to be maintained at a lower temperature tiian tlie ignition point of the fuel; a liquid fuel et; a spreader in the path of the fuel; and at protecting metal part within the chamber and in the path of the fuel deflected from the spreader of large suiface area relatlve to its mass whereby it is maintained by the heat' of combustion at a temperature above the ignition point of the fuel, the spreader having a groove formed therein tending to concentrate the spray in the direction of the igniter, substantially as described.

9. In an internal combustion engine having a combustion chamber into which fuel is injected substantially at the end of the compression stroke, the combination of an internal igniter adapted to be maintained at an ignitm temperature by the combustion of the fue a starting i niter in one wall of the chamber adapted to be heated from without; and a spreader between the two igniters in the path of the jet of fuel at the time of ignition, substantia ly as described.

10. In an internal combustion engine having a combustion chamber into which fuel is in ected substantially at the end of the compression stroke, the combination of an internal igniter adapted to be maintained at an igniting temperature by the combustion of the fuel; a starting imiter in one wall of the chamber adapted to be heated from without; and a spreader in the path of the jet of fuel, shaped to effect apartial concentration of the spray of fuel in .ne direction of the igniters, substantially as described.

11. In an internal combustion engine the combination with a liquid .fuel jet of a spreader located within the combustion c amber in the path of the fuel from the jet; and a fuel igniter located in the path of the fuel deflected from the spreader, and adapted to be maintained at a hi her tem )erature than the walls of the com ustion chamber, the spreader being shaped to effect a partial cmicentration of the spray in the direction of the igniter, substantiall, as described.

12. In an internal com ustion engine of the class described in which the heat of combustion is utilized for i nition purposes the combination, with fuel and air-admitting means, of means for varying the fuel supply, means for utilizing a portion of the hot exhaust to take the place of a'portien of the charge of air, and means for varying the quantity of exhaust so re-used in inverse ratio to the fuel supply, substantially as described.

18. In an internal combustion engine of the class described in which the heat of combustion is utilized for ignition purposes, the combination of fuel and air admittinmneans; a normally spring closed exhaust va ve; and means for throttling the air supply to cause exhaust gases to be re-admitted to the engine a ainst the pressure of said spring, substantially as described.

14. In an internal combustion en ine of the class described in which the com ustion chamber must be kept hot, the combination of fuel and air admitting means; a normally spring closed exhaust valve; means for regulating the fuel supply and means for throttling the air sup y to cause exhaust gases to be re-admitte to the engine against the pressure of said spring, substantially as described.

15. In an internal combustion engine having a combustion chamber into which fuel is injected substantially at the end of the compression stroke, the combination of an internal i niter adapted to be maintained at an i niting temperature b the combustion of t 0 fuel; a starting i miter in one wall of the chamber adapted to a heated from without; and a spreader adapted at the time of injection of the fuel to direct part'of the 'ucl against each igniter, substantially as described.

16. In an internal combustion engine having a .piston and a combustion chamber into w iieh fuel is injected substantially at the end of the compression stroke, the combination of aninternal igniter secured to the piston and adapted to be maintained at an igniting temperature by the combustion of the fuel; a starting igniter in one wall of the chamber adapted to be heated from without; and a spreader adapted at the time of in'ection of the fuel to direct part of the fuel against each igniter, substantially as described.

Toronto, Ont. 7th February, 1907.

nowam) a. JOHNSTON.

Signed in the 1presence of-- J. Enw. mums, F. W. MOKENDRIOK. 

